they did ask me to come back again, which means i did something right. >> already a winner. the pressure is on the remaining contestants. the bill will be eliminated next week. catch the show monday night on abc 7. >> we have another hour of news starting right now. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> president obama does not have to stay indoors during debate propel. today's the day. he will meet mitt romney for the first presidential debate a little more than a month before the election. >> and jummy olabanji will have an update on the latest deadly attack in syria. >> and who could still the spotlight from the nationals. good morning, washington. i am cynne simpson. >> i am steve chenevey. let's get to jacqui jeras for look at the weather.

>> you will not able to see much this morning. since we have been on the air, visibility has really dropped significantly. advisories in maryland as well as low visibility in the metro area. dense fog this morning,. a warm wednesday with temperatures in the '80s this afternoon. big changes ahead with a big chill as we head towards the weekend. let's look at visibility across the area. under a 10th of a mile at dulles airport, three tenths of a mile at reagan national. about half mile in gaithersburg. the fog will give way to mostly cloudy skies this afternoon with a few peaks of sunshine, high temperatures around 85. but see how traffic is dealing with it. good morning, angela. >> good morning. give extra travel time this morning. folks are taking it easy. not reporting a lot of incidents so far on the roadways.

we have checked prince george's county as well as montgomery county. 270 at 109, we are seeing brake lights as you head from frederick the clarksburg. a disabled vehicle at huntington avenue on route 1. a crash on the ramp from northbound 95 - to northbound 95 from 234 dumphries. >> breaking news from syria. let's go to jummy olabanji. >> several news outlets this morning are reporting that the death toll has risen to 40 and could continue growing. and we have new video just into the newsroom out of syria. there are reports this morning that a deadly explosions were caused by three different suicide bombers who detonated explosive-packed cars near an officer's club in the northern city of aleppo. dozens of people trapped under some of the rubble. we are hearing there's possibly

a fourth explosion detonated a few hundred meters away from the initial explosions. witnesses on the ground said that it felt like a series of earthquakes. once again, we are hearing up to 40 people have been killed in the explosions and dozens more injured. back to you. >> thank you. president obama and mitt romney meeting for their first debate before the november election. >> baxter night. it will focus on foreign-policy and several issues. -- that is tonight. brianne carter has a preview. >> both candidates have been preparing for weeks. now they will go face-to-face in their first presidential debate. after months of back-and-forth battles, tonight president and republican hopeful mitt romney will share the same stage in denver for the first presidential debate.

>> governor romney and president obama will meet on the stage behind me. >> the latest abc news poll says the race for president is still very close. what happens tonight could have an impact on the two campaigns that are winding down with a little more than a month left. according to the wall street journal, the two will square off tonight in 615-minute segments with a focus on the economy health care, and the role of government. both candidates have been preparing for weeks. they took a break on tuesday and their wives weighed in on how they think it will go. >> we are focused and i cannot wait for the contrast that we are going to hear. >> he's a very good debater telling him to have fun and relaxing and be himself, because if he is barack obama the country has come to know and trust, you'll do a great job. -- he'll do a great job. >> political analysts this morning say presidential

candidates don't win elections because of debates but having a gaffe could impact whether they walk home with the final prize of being at the white house the next four years. back to you. >> thank you. you can watch the debate tonight at 9:00 on abc 7. some believe the pressure will fall on mitt romney. >> turning to a developing story in fairfax county. parents and students at west springfield high school on alert after someone followed a female student home on monday night. john gonzalez joins us live the a high school with the latest details. >> this is a disturbing situation and a warning for all parents, especially those living in the west springfield area. an alert has been sent out to parents who have children here at west springfield high school. according to the washington post, a female student was

getting in her car in a parking lot of the school monday night around 8:00. there were a number of after- school activities that night. and she was on the road she noticed a suspicious man following her. the man was driving a dark blue four-door sedan. he followed her all the way home. she got out of for car and he tried to approach. she was able to get inside the house before he fled the scene. fairfax county police are trying to figure out of this disturbing case is linked to a couple of fondling cases last month involving two teenage girls and a female adult. all three women walking on sidewalks in the west springfield area were approached by a man and grabbed from behind. there were all separate incidents, but police believe those cases are connected and are trying to see if this fourth case is related. unfortunately, police say there are no strong leads. reporting live in springfield john gonzalez. >> thank you. american university students

polled to be on alert after four tax on the mill students on and around massachusetts at the new that borders the campus. d.c. police believe a white man politely in his 20s and wearing a committee is approaching semo students from behind -- wearing a hoodie is approaching female students from behind and grabbing them. >> i usually walk back by myself after class. it's kind of creeping. >> i go and meet my girlfriend now. you don't want to play around with this. >> students can get an escort if they would like one. >> residency requirements for city employees in d.c. a piece of legislation would require newly hired city workers living outside the seat tube to give part of their salary back to the district. another bill woul-- living outside

the district to give part of their salary back. >> still ahead what is on the line for the nationals and the orioles on this final day of the regular season. what's it all comes down to the last day. a woman goes for a joyride on a manatee.

>> we are and the pink society of georgetown. good morning, washington.

>> good morning, georgetown visitation. police in florida are searching for a woman who went on a joyride on the back of a manatee. >> somebody took a picture of her doing it on a beach near tampa. this violates florida sanctuary laws. >> if you want to go for a ride, get a jet ski. don't abuse the animals. >> she faces a second-degree misdemeanor charge if police catch her. >> let's check it would jacqui jeras. very mild temperatures this morning. >> very warm, in the '60s up to about 70 degrees. fog will be a big issue. fog advisories have been expanded to include the shenandoah valley, where visibilities will be down 2 1/4 mile or less at times. some pretty good fog even in the metro area, a sense of a mile at dulles airport and a third of a

mile at reagan national. 72 degrees in the district 6. e-6 in manassas. clouds will be the rule of the day. drier air working in for this afternoon. -- 66 degrees in manassas right now. you will have a lot of travel delays this morning. delays already in philadelphia for rivals. if you are leaving washington and arriving in philadelphia, you will be late. delays in boston, new york, and atlanta as well because of that. it will be one today, 82-86 degrees. let's check on traffic with angela. >> good morning. delays on the road. folks travelling very slowly on most of the interstates. on 95, see some delays coming in from quantico. travel times on the screen. mostly a brake lights around

quite harbor. and in prince william parkway heading up to the purple heart bridge. and from the fairfax county parkway to springfield. on 95 in maryland as well. 26 minutes as you make the trip through columbia. this is another look at what to expect at the springfield interchange. allow for extra time this morning on your travels. back to you. >> thank you. 6:13. could this be teddy's day at the ballpark? >>

hey, what are you drinkin'? pumpkin coffee for theorning. and i've got my pumpkin k-cup packs for at home. now i can have my pumpkin coffee any time i want it. pumpkin's perfect. it's dunkin' with the press of a button. new pumpkin k-cup packs, only at dunkin' restaurants. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

hey, what are you drinking? i'm drinking dunkin'. i'm drinking dunkin'. i'm just in love with the flavor. i get mine black. i don't want to take away from that pure taste. so smooth, no bitterness. it's awesome. there's no other taste like it. america runs on dunkin' coffee. >> you are watching abc 7's "good morning washington" with cynne simpson and steve chenevey. this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> homeland security department

disputed the findings about the senate report about and information sharing program created after 9/11. it says the program improperly collected information about innocent americans and produced little valuable intelligence on terrorists. homeland security says the report is inaccurate. >> authorities are searching for the gunman who shot and killed a border patrol agent in arizona. nicholas ivy and another agent were shot early tuesday morning while patrolling the u.s.-mexico border. the other agent is expected to survive. this is the first deadly shooting of a border patrol agents. and agents that shooting sparked a congressional investigation into a botched gun smuggling probe. >> there will be a prayer vigil tonight in gaithersburg to remember the victims of the d.c. sniper attacks which started 10 years ago. october 3 2010, the deadliest day in a shooting spree. john allen mohammed killed duffel you are people in montgomery county. 13 people were shot over three

weeks and 10 people died. mohammed was executed in 2009 and malvo is serving a life sentence in a virginia prison. you can find more on our website, wjla.com. >> the washington redskins have joined the fray in efforts to expand gambling in maryland. the team owners urging fans to vote for question 7 on next month's ballot would call for table games and existing casinos as well and a new casino likely build and national harbor in prince george's county. the team says it will create more jobs and will mean more money for schools. fans have mixed reactions. >> for him to ask his fans and the team to endorse what he believes is unprecedented. >> it creates jobs. people need jobs right now in this area. it's a good thing. >> opponents say the casino owners will benefit and not the unemployed or schoolchildren. >> the international space station moved into a different orbit pto avoid a collision

with space junk. that will be carried out on thursday. still pretty safe. >> let's check in with jacqui jeras. >> good morning. bethe fog is so bad. i received some pictures. this is from omar, lives in the district on massachusetts avenue. you can see the reflection of the moisture in the lights. thank you. you cantweet me your pictures-- you can tweet me your pictures. visibility is at 1 mile in the district about a 10th of a mile at dulles. a third of a mile in martinsburg and about a half mile in winchester. give yourself extra time to get

where you need to be and you should use the low beams. 72 degrees at reagan national, 64 at dulles, 66 in culpeper. a lot of clouds today in addition fog. all the moisture is drifting up to our north for the most part. the drier air will build in by this afternoon and give us a little sunshine, which would be nice. high pressure will build in behind that system slowly today. we will see lots of sunshine tomorrow. changes are ahead for the weekend. a cold front in the midwest that front will be heading our way late in the weekend. it will be blustery and much colder. morning fog today giving way to mostly cloudy skies. 62-67 tonight. a little foggy tomorrow morning but not as bad as today. beautiful on thursday and friday. in the 60's at the end of the weekend. let's check on traffic with

angela. >> is getting a little busy. a few more incidents. an accident on northbound route 1 just past lorton road. into falls church on 50, blocking the center lane with a crash before fairview park and 234 after 95 has two lanes blocked with an accident. a little fog building especially on the virginia side. and in maryland on 270 southbound lanes are starting to see if you brake lights with foggy conditions. all lanes are open and moving freely towards the spur. back to you. >> thank you. today at 4:00, katie couric is exploring the reality television phenomenon. it's more than a phenomenon but a guilty pleasure and obsession. she will talk with kate gosselin and others about what happens

behind the scenes. 4:00 on abc 7. >> cars, babies, and beer. >> paula faris has details. >> more turbulence for american airlines. pilots are expected to authorize a strike this week, although negotiations are resuming. american says it has found the cause of the loose seats. an improperly installed clamp. u.s. automobile sales were up again, led by toyota and volkswagen. loans are cheaper and easier to get and people are more confident about their jobs. the birth rate fell for the fourth year in a row. the good news is it did not fall as much as it had in recent weeks. the beer industry is rising, a sure sign consumers are doing

better economically, particularly young men. i'm paula faris.

i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. these appliances could have been made here in america. but a company called global tech maximized profits by paying its workers next to nothing... under eatshop conditions in china. when mitt romney led bain, they saw global tech as a good investment... even knowing that the firm promoted its practice of exploiting... w- low-wage labor to its investors. mitt romney - tough on china?

since when? i don't spend money on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about.i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcerer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪ ♪ >> your washington nationals wrap up the regular season today with a chance to wrap up the national league's top playoff seed. to do so, they just need to beat the phillies. they won the season series against the reds. the national speed philadelphia last night. adam laroche hit his 33rd home

run and got his 100th rbi of the season. first pitch today at 1:00 at the ballpark. the highlights of today's game may have nothing to do with the people paid to wear the nationals uniform. >> the biggest spotlight could fall on. the on. ted won the race last night, but george washington came in. teddy may win today's race. he never has won before. >> we will have to wait and see. the orioles need a win and the yankees need to lose for the orioles to win the division. the orioles won last night. 74 a and 0.

>> of wisconsin tv news anchor named jennifer livingston was insulted by a viewer through an e-mail. >> if you are an home and talking about the fact news lady, your children are probably going to go to school and call someone fat. we need to teach our kids how to be kind and not critical. we need to do that by example. >> she also thanked the viewers for supporting her. the man who wrote the e-mail initially later released a statement saying his e-mail was not about to bullying. he said that he wants livingston to transformer self and he offered his advice and support to her. >> if you are caught near monuments and historical treasures, you could be fined between $25 and almost 600 u.s. dollars. many local residents think the

law is too harsh. similar bans are already in effect and other italian cities including venice and florence. something to get you hungry. >> the world's biggest frito chili pie. 1,400 pounds for this new record world -- old record holder. fritos celebrating its 80th anniversary in october, national chili month. >> another half-hour of "good morning washington" on the way. >> a student said [ mamale announc

] we the people, the middle class who move our country forward, work hard raise families, and keep america strong. but mitt romney's

budget plan will hurt the middle class, raising taxes on the average family by up to $2,000 while giving a tax break of $250,000 to multimillionaires. doesn't mitt romney understand we can't rebuild america by tearing down the middle class. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. [ female announcer ] who will raise taxes on the middle class? barack obama and the liberals already have. to pay for government-run healthcare, you'll pay higher taxes and more for your medicine. and their plan includes a trillion dollars in higher taxes. even on the middle class. mitt romney and common sense conservatives will cut taxe on the middle class. and they'll cse loopholes for millionaires. obama and his liberal allies? we can't afford four more years. [ romney] i'm mitt romney d i approve this message.

>> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> candidates have never lost an -- one an election with a debate but what if you have lost them up the candidates share the spotlight in the first presidential debate before the election. >> leave yourself extra time this morning because it is foggy. this is in frostburg maryland but it is all across the area. good morning washington not it is wednesday, october 3. >> we will check in with meteorologist jacqui jeras. >> take a look at this camera on

top of our building and that is the visibility which has improved. there is four miles visibility there but everyone else has only about 1/10th of a mile of visibility. we have a dense fog advisory in effect. we are looking for the fog around for a good part of the morning giving way to mostly sunny skies. there will be a few peaks of sunshine late today 84 degrees at 5:00. >> good morning in the next few minutes, we have been talking about the heavy fog out there and you still see a lot of that it on our traffic cameras. northbound 395 near the gw parkway as a disabled vehicle.

traveling on 66 kabbalah all lanes are open and we see volume the latest coming from manassas to the prince william parkway to centreville. the heaviest volume on the maryland side is not to bed -- is not too bad at 270. inbound 50 is jammed. and overturned car crash reported north. for millions of americans this is the first of three presidential debates to night. >> they will face off at the university of denver. >> the big night for both candidates. we're getting new numbers this morning showing obama is leading in ohio.

the candidates have been focusing on the swing states and tonight they will focus on colorado ahead of the first presidential debate. we expect big domestic issues will take center stage tonight. the, in health care are two subjects we have heard a lot about. -- the economy and health care are two subjects we have heard a lot about. the campaigns are weighing in at head of the debate tonight. >> governor romney is probably a little bit the underdog but i think he will be ready on the issues which is what this election is about. >> i think the debates will be interesting and they will have to back up their statements. i think they will be held to account as far as the facts and the details. >> both candidates know how

important this is. that have to gain momentum in the polls after tonight's debate. any kind of slip up on questions will certainly have an impact. >> thank you. well the president and mitt romney have to do the talking their wives have mixed feelings about the debate. >> i get so nervous at these debates. i am like one of those parents watching their kid on a balancing bar. you are standing there trying not to have an expression. >> we have a debate coming up. we are excited about that and focused. >> it turns out the debate tonight falls on the obama is a 20th wedding anniversary. >> in fairfax county, county police have issued an alert to

students after a female student reported a man following her home. >> police in fairfax county are now investigating four separate but similar cases that may be connected. they occurred in west springfield and the most recent involving a female student at west springfield high school. she told police she was getting in her car monday night after a number of after-school activities and she said with she was on old keene mill road, she noticed a suspicious man following her. he apparently fall for all the way home. when she got out of the car, he tried to approach her and she got inside the house before the man fled the scene. fairfax county police are trying to see if this is linked to a couple of funneling cases in springfield last month involving two teenaged girls. all three women were walking on

a sidewalk in springfield when they were approached by a man and grabbed from behind. fortunately, no one was seriously injured but the police said they don't know if they are connected and they don't have any strong leads. the description of the man or men are -- is very vague this morning. >> a former prince george's county county employee is accused of extortion. he admitted to partner with developers to bribe officials for faber is related to the greenbelt development project. -- to brought a position of -- to bribe officials for favors related to the greenbelt development projects. >>jimmy all bungee will check in about a lot of protest -- jummy olabanji w

>> there was a man literally trying to bring a heightened awareness to issues he has with the italian government. take a look at this video. the man is actually scaling the

side of st. peter's basilica of this morning. he is protesting against the italian government and european union policies. he identifies himself and police are trying to get him to come down. he refuses to and is holding that sign. a very large crowd has gathered outside the vatican watching this man as he continues to scale the side of st. peter's basilica. >> we have noticed of an alarming rise in breast cancer cases. members of the military have a significantly greater risk of contracting the disease. the higher use of oral contraception might be to blame.

>> tonight, we will highlight the first black female to reach three-star general tonight at 5:00. we will talk about the obstacles she has experienced climbing to the top. you will hear her story tonight at 5:00. >> very impressive, let's check in with jacqui jeras. >> it will be really warm today and humid, too. but as some fog outside right now. -- there is some fog outside right now. >> it will continue to feel like spring.

a few showers were reported around the area early this morning. we have fog and warm temperatures. tech -- check out these temperatures around the area. the average high today will be 73. visibility is an issue and dense fog might affect the entire washington area. it will be kind of cloudy out there today. we will have very warm temperatures. >> good morning we are dealing with reduced visibility in most of the area. the interstate mostly has volume on 66 and 95. on 395, we're dealing with an accident as you approach the 14th street bridge. it is blocking the center lane and in maryland, no major incidents to report in terms of

volume we see heavy volume southbound 270 southbound 95 and on the b w parkway. we're dealing with the crash near the b w parkway. >> it is 6:43 and 67 degrees. >>

>> about 14.5 hours away from the first debate by the presidential candidates spent a a breakout performance 9 tonight could shape the election. mike allen is joining us to talk about what both candidates need

to do tonight. >> we will be listening for which of these candidates will be the first to mention bill clinton. mitt romney tried to identify with him. the debate will start tonight or will barack obama? the first half hour will be important because it sets the tone. mitt romney needs to change things. there are issues that could trip up each of them. for president obama new information has come out about the attack that killed that

ambassador. mitt romney will have to talk about the 47% video. when they talk to undecided or independent voters, they don't have to explain what they're talking about. one person told me that the over/under and how many times president obama will mention the 47% is every third question. >> what is the pressure on the incumbent president when it comes to a debate like this? >> this president has the likability factor but when you are an incumbent he is not used to being challenged. that could be the trip up for president obama.

>> thank you so much. >> they have been practicing. >> we are looking forward to it. we will get your analysis afterwards. >> it will be right here tonight at 9:00 on abc 7. >> let's check the weather. >> it is very foggy this morning. it will stick around a good part of the morning. let's go over to doug hill for more. >> north and west of the city, the visibility is down. satellite radar shows moisture is still coming in but the rain has departed. we will have sunshine later this

afternoon but it feels like spring in the air. we don't have much in the way of precipitation. clouds and fog will be the story for at least another hour. 72 of reagan national airport right now. cooler air north and west of the metro area. 71 degrees in fredericksburg. there will be some low numbers north and west of town as far as bill a bit -- visibility. for this wednesday the fog will give way to clouds and may be a peek of sunshine late this afternoon. >> we are trying to get through the morning rush and we see a lot of incidents. the latest one is two pedestrians were struck in the silver spring/colesville area.

we're also dealing with a lot of slow traffic. folks are taking it easy on the interstates. the lanes are open when you get past the beltway in urbana. on 395, we see the accident blocking the right lane as you approach the 14th street bridge. >> we have a facebook giveaway -- >> we are giving away four tickets to cox farms fall festival. congratulations. temperatures are still climbing at 6:50 this morning. >> we will have a roundup of today's top stories. >> here's a quick look at the forecast.

krystal conwell : we see a lot of problems with the... number of students that we have. resources. materials. things that the children need... on a day-to-day basis. anncr: question seven will help. the department of legislative services says question seven... will mean hundreds of millions of dollars... for schools...from gaming revenues that would have... gone to other states. and independent audits will guarantee the money... goes where it's supposed to. krystal conwell: i think people should vote for question... seven because i think it will be a great benefit to children.

>> coming down, the stunning trial of georgia where a convicted stop practice his own attorney. he faces life in prison and his victims face him down in court and his message next here on "good morning america." >> brianne carter her is live. >> tonight is the night for

president barack obama and republican presidential hopeful mitt romney, the first face-to- face debate between the two candidates. it is taking place in denver, colorado as they are in a dead heat nationwide with president obama leading in ohio. the topics tonight will be about domestic policies. both candidates know how important it is to gain momentum leading into the election. >> fairfax county police are examining four similar incidents that occurred in west springfield and last month. the most recent was monday night involving a student from west springfield high school who claims she was followed all way home monday night and when she got out of her car at home, a man tried to approach her and the mashe got into her house. >> dozens of people have been

killed in three separate explosions in syria this morning. and -- up to 70 are injured and up to 40 have been killed this morning. witnesses and officials believe these are terrorist-related to text caused by suicide bombers. >> here are some things you need to know -- >> two pedestrians in montgomery county have been hit by a car at randolph road and silver spring. d-dot is closing the westbound southeast freeway today. >> the nationals are ending the regular season at home today. there will close out the series against the phillies and we will find out who they will play in the first round of the playoffs.

teddy roosevelt will have another shot of victory at the presidential race of the ballpark. you can always go to wjla.com. >> on the roads this morning very low visibility and a new action reported on the beltway in maryland/college park before i-95. >> the fog will linger for most of the morning but it will give way to peaks of sunshine late today. 85 will be our high. >> sounds good and thank you so very much. hope to make it to the ballpark. >> for continuing local news, you can tune into newschannel 8.

i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. these appliances could have been made here in america. but a company called global tech maximized profits by paying its workers next to nothing... under sweatshop conditions in china. when mitt romney led bain, they saglobal tech as a good investment... even knowing that the firm promoted its practice of exploiting... low-wage labor to its investors. mitt romney - tough on china? since when?